


Your Voice is My Favorite Sound

by Kybee1497



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Discussions of grief, Gen, Heavier Angst, I will add tags as I go, It's not like graphic but it's there, Julie 'heart eyes' molina, Light Angst, Luke 'heart eyes' patterson, Luke 'julie molina's #1 fan' patterson, POV Outsider, Please and thank, Song fic, That's Love Bitch, Unreliable Narrator, carrie is my sassy bitter sad child and I love her, discussions of depression (vague), discussions of mental health struggles, discussions of sleep deprivation, double trouble, double trouble being ride or die for each other, give me season 2 damn it, jatp through performances, juke through their performances, mentions of Kenny Ortega, no beta we die like the himbos
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-15 06:36:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28934133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kybee1497/pseuds/Kybee1497
Summary: "She walked backwards and he followed making it look effortless. Like they were tethered together with an invisible thread that they had grown used to, moving like they forgot it was ever there. Their eyes were locked on each other as he sang and she mouthed the lyrics, nodding at him as if they were speaking a private language no one else knew."Otherwise known as Juke through Julie and the Phantoms performances, as told by their family, friends and strangers.
Relationships: Alex Mercer & Julie Molina & Luke Patterson & Reggie Peters, Flynn & Julie Molina & Carrie Wilson, Julie Molina & Carrie Wilson, Julie Molina/Luke Patterson, Kayla & Carrie Wilson
Comments: 28
Kudos: 82





	1. Times That I Doubted Myself

**Author's Note:**

> Alright kiddos, pals, friends, etc. Here's the dealio. This is going to be a six (don't quote me on that) chapter fic with each chapter being from a different point of view. 
> 
> This chapter is brought to you by Carrie and my terrible sleep schedule. Carrie is an unreliable narrator regarding what happened during the fallout between her, Julie and Flynn. I tried to make it obvious that she misunderstood what Julie was telling her, it spiraled and she didn't know how to fix it. In this house we love and support Carrie Wilson, but we don't tear Julie and Flynn down to do it. I tried to straddle that line and I think I did okay but if I need to do more reflecting for future fics please let me know, constructively. Thanks everyone. Okay that should be all the pre-flight announcements. Have fun and I would love to know what you think! I started this at like midnight and it's almost 4 am now so rip.

“Oh, go Bobcats!”

Carrie giggled and waved before straightening up and leading the girls out. Shoulders back and legs crossing one in front of the other, they strutted off the floor and out the gym doors.

Once they were clear, she turned, grinning “Great job girls! You all did amazing. Kayla, that choreography was perfect, thank you for all your help. It came out great! Everyone take the night off, we can resume practice next week like normal. Have a great weekend girls.”

After a group hug and quick goodbyes, her girls drifted away, heading to lockers to pack up for the day. Kayla stuck around however, they had plans to hang out after school and catch up on the bachelorette. Turning Kayla started to say something but paused when the sound of piano and a familiar voice drifted out of the cracked gym doors.

_“Life is a risk but I will take it, close my eyes and jump.”_

Carrie whipped her head around, registering the sound and started for the door without even thinking about it. That sounded like Julie’s voice. Carrie would know Julie’s voice anywhere. She ought to anyway. They sang together enough when they were younger. Even if they hadn’t had a friendly conversation in over a year, you didn’t just forget the voice of a former songwriting partner.

It wasn’t possible though. Julie didn’t sing anymore. Not even Carrie had been able to pull Julie out of her music slump and eventually she had stopped trying. She knew that Julie struggled with losing her mom. She wasn’t a monster, she understood.

It wasn’t the same but Rose had been important to Carrie too. She missed her. She wasn’t technically Carrie's mom but lord knows her own mother was never around and Carrie spent enough time at the Molina’s for them to automatically set the dinner table for five.

It hurt, losing the only real mother figure she had. And it felt like she lost her best friend at the same time. She had tried. In the first few months after Rose had died. But there were only so many times she could hear _“Just drop it Carrie.”_ or _“I don’t want to talk about it Carrie”_ or _“Go away, Carrie!”_ Before she took the hint and left Julie alone. Maybe part of her assumed that Julie knew where she was coming from and would reach out when she was ready to talk but she never did.

A few weeks went by and then Julie and Flynn were giving her dirty looks in the hallway. Flynn started making quips. While Julie? Julie just looked sad. Carrie didn’t get it. Julie told her to back off and leave her alone, to go away. So she did. She knew Julie wanted space and now she was the bad guy? What the hell!

And then they just… weren’t friends anymore? Julie just drew further into herself every day and Flynn’s quips turned into barbs and Carrie didn’t understand. But she wasn’t about to ask, to beg them to talk to her. If that’s how they wanted it to be then fine. They just wouldn’t be friends anymore. She had other friends, she would be okay. Julie and Flynn were her oldest friends. They’d been a triple threat since they were in diapers and then they just dropped Carrie out of nowhere. But it’s fine. She had Nick and Kayla and the other Dirty Candy girls. She wasn’t lonely or anything. She just missed them sometimes, or most of the time. Whatever.

And maybe part of her was frustrated and a tiny bit bitter. They all had to work their asses off in the music program and Julie just coasted through it. It’s not that she wanted Julie to get kicked out. Carrie knew Julie was grieving, but she didn’t do anything. She just sat there and didn’t play and didn’t sing and everyone acted like that was fine. Like she wasn’t just wasting a spot someone else would kill for.

But Carrie? Carrie had to work hard. She had to pull all nighters and deal with the occasional stress induced breakdown when the lyrics just wouldn’t come out right. She worked so, so hard and it wasn’t _fair_.

She had worked herself to the point of exhaustion to be at the top of the music program and earn the opportunity to perform at the spirit assembly. Contrary to popular belief, she earned everything she got. Daddy didn’t just hand it to her. A, he wouldn’t. He wanted her to get there on her own, to know that she got herself there and not anyone else. And B, she wouldn’t have let him even if he wanted to. She wasn’t afraid to work for it. It was hard enough getting anyone to take her seriously without taking Daddy’s handouts. Carrie was stubborn. She got that from her mama. Apparently.

So she had earned her spot in the music program and she had earned her spot as a performer at the spirit rally. And now there was Julie. Julie who didn’t want Carrie anymore. Julie who hadn’t sung a note in a year. Julie was on the stage in the gym. In front of _Carrie’s crowd._ And she was killing it.

Part of her wanted to be happy for Julie. Was so proud of Julie for finally doing it, for connecting with music again. The part of her that still loved Julie as her best friend and probably always would.

But the bigger part of her? The insecure part. The part that was so proud of the routine she had performed not five minutes ago. That part was… hurt. Because Julie hadn’t sung for a year. Had pushed Carrie away when she tried to help. And now Julie was finally performing again but she did it to undermine Carrie. To steal her thunder. Carrie had arrived back in the gym just in time to see a freaking hologram band poof into existence behind Julie. And that? That was not a spur of the moment performance. That was not working up the courage to sing again? That took time. That took planning. And Julie planned it for right after Carrie had performed her new song.

Why would she do that? Carrie was glad that Julie found music but did it have to be like this. Julie had always been better. She was able to put more of herself into her music. It had more heart. And that was okay. They were a team. Carrie brought the sparkle and Julie brought the heart. (And Flynn brought the sickest raps and reminded them to eat when they went on hours long writing benders). It worked for them, they balanced each other out. But now Carrie was the only singer in her group of dancers and Julie had a new band.

A cute band.

A cute band that poofed into existence around Julie, gravitating around her like she was the sun. Carrie watched as Julie hopped up from the piano bench. A small giggle audible through the words as she sang. She danced a little with her band before turning back towards the crowd gathered in front of the stage. A crowd that was already cheering much louder than they ever had for Carrie. But Julie looked… confused? Actually the whole band looked confused for a moment.

That didn’t even make sense. Why would Julie be confused? She had planned this. Hadn’t she? Julie didn’t fake emotions and she was a terrible liar. But she had to have planned this. Holograms had to be set up, it’s not like they were ghosts or anything.

Still looking confused -for some reason- Julie and the cute guitarist with the allergy to sleeves leaned in to exchange a few words. Carrie couldn’t tell what they were saying but they must have come to a consensus because Biceps McGee grinned, bouncing over to the free microphone.

_“In times that I doubted myself. I felt like I needed some help. Stuck in my head, with nothing left. I feel something around me now. So unclear lifting me out. I found the ground, I’m marching on.”_

Damn, the boy could sing, Carrie would give him that. Julie had excellent taste in bandmates and eye candy. While Pretty Boy sang, Julie turned, dancing and headbanging with the bassist.

_“Life is a risk but we will take it. Close my eyes and jump. Together I think that we can make it, come on let’s run.”_

Turning towards the audience Julie threw her hands up in the air, vibing, as the bassist and Beanie Boy shared a microphone. They were bouncing in place and getting all up in each other’s personal space. Cute Guitarist thumped the bassist on the chest to the beat of the drums, grinning as they sang the last line. The bassist hopped back over to his microphone and Julie came in again on the next line.

_“And rise through the night. You and I will fight to shine together, bright forever.”_

God, Julie was amazing. The crowd was loving her, dancing and cheering along. The energy in the room was incredible. The bassist jumped up on the drum platform, rocking out before jumping off and landing on beat. Which was not easy, her dad was always a second off on the timing of his jumps.

Clearly Biceps thought Julie was amazing too. Looking over to watch her as he sang harmony into the mic. Julie hit her final note and beanie boy took over as Julie prowled towards him, mic held out in offering.

_“I feel like I needed some help, stuck in my head with nothing left.”_

The instruments faded out as he left his spot by his microphone, stretching out to reach Julie’s mic. She walked backwards and he followed making it look effortless. Like they were tethered together with an invisible thread that they had grown used to, moving like they forgot it was ever there. Their eyes were locked on each other as he sang and she mouthed the lyrics, nodding at him as if they were speaking a private language no one else knew.

How long had Julie had this band anyways? Just the other day she had run out of music class rather than play and now she was rocking out on stage with an entire band and this overflowing pool of confidence. Where in the hell did it even come from?

_“And when I feel lost and alone. I know that I can make it home.”_

Turning, Julie shifted sideways and he went with her, curving against her back without touching as he picked up the guitar again. They rocked together in their own little world as his guitar built the beat back up heading into the chorus again.

While Julie and Mr. Biceps were absorbed in each other and the music, the cute bassist was winking at Kayla, standing by her side after she had followed Carrie into the gym. Carrie whipped around to look at Kayla as she giggled next to her.

“What the hell, Kayla!” They weren’t cool with Julie taking over their performance and that included Julie’s cute hologram bandmates.

Kayla cut off, looking at the ground before looking back to Carrie with a mouthed “Sorry.”

_“Fight through the dark and find the spark”_

Julie left the guitarists side, facing the audience before turning and _walking through him!_ Obviously Carrie knew they weren’t solid, they had poofed on stage after all. But damn was it trippy to see Julie just straight up walk through the bandmate she was just weirdly close to for a performance. Maybe all of them just had no concept of personal space.

The drums and bass came back in and Julie turned once again to face the crowd, arms raising as she went into a frankly impressive belt. The rest of the band came in with harmonies as she went off.

_“You and I, we will fight to shine together. Bright forever.”_

Julie hit the final high note with ease and the drums faded out, the song ending as she struck a final pose. Fist in the air, a power pose. The crowd lost it. Cheering louder than she’d ever heard them as Julie and her band bowed.

The cheers faded into confused murmurs and echoing gasps when Julie’s band and their instruments poofed away, leaving Julie on stage alone. Honestly they needed to coordinate their exits better. Julie had that deer in the headlights look all of a sudden. Not that Carrie knew why. Julie had completely blown it out of the water. Carrie had just put on one of the best performances of her life and no one would even remember it with the little show Julie just put on.

Carrie crossed her arms, frowning as she forced the stinging in her eyes back. She refused to cry in a room full of her classmates and friends over Julie Molina. Even if Julie had just shown her up in front of everyone. She was Carrie Wilson, damn it. She would not let this get to her. She had cried enough over Julie Molina in the last year. She was done. If this is what it took for Julie to get back into music, then Carrie hoped she was happy. And maybe next time they could perform without stealing her spotlight. They lived in LA, for god’s sake, there had to be enough places to perform that they didn’t have to step on each other’s toes. She would stay out of Julie’s way and Julie could stay out of hers and it would be fine. Right?


	2. That's Just How We Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She eyed Julie and the Guitarist right before he poofed out. Don’t think she didn’t notice that his attention didn’t waver off of Julie for most of the song, but especially the ending. That boy was trouble waiting to happen and judging by the way Julie just smiled at him, soft and fond, they needed to be having that conversation sooner rather than later. But first things first, she had the last few days to catch up and she wanted to know everything

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm starting to think my brand is just dropping chapters in the middle of the night when I should be sleeping and then disappearing for 12 hours. 
> 
> Anyway's here's Flynn with Flying Solo. I know this fic is supposed to be Juke centric. Flynn had a lot to say and I wanted to give her enough background that her feelings and actions made sense. So here's almost 6k of angst followed by fluff
> 
> Thank you to Lottie for checking this chapter over for me and giving me the idea to add Flynn panicking over Julie while she waited for her to get ready. You’re the best and it sparked like an extra 600 words so thankies. 
> 
> TW in this chapter for discussions of generally shitty mental health and grief.

Flynn had been waiting for this day for a long time. The day music came back to Julie and woke up that little piece of her that had been lying dormant and cold for over a year. Julie needed music, she _was_ music. Without it she was just a shell of herself, drifting through life instead of living boldly and without apology. Julie with music was a sight to behold. The way she was always meant to be.

Flynn had almost given up hope. It had been a long year and there were times when she honestly wasn’t sure if they would get through it. But they did, Trip- Double Trouble, together through thick and thin. And now the day was here.

The little room in Julie’s soul that was her music was opening. Windows thrown open, a fresh breeze chasing all the stillness and stale air away. Dusty covers pulled off of furniture and golden sunlight illuminating all the corners sending the shadows running. It was a new day, _the_ day and Flynn was so glad to see it.

She wasn’t so glad to see a hologram band, a hologram band that she knew absolutely nothing about, pop up on stage with Julie. Julie had seemed a bit confused when the crowd went crazy but she obviously knew the boys and they obviously knew the song she, well, _they_ were performing.

And Flynn was so happy for Julie, ecstatic in fact. But she couldn’t help the small tendrils of betrayal that were winding around the happy. Why hadn’t Julie mentioned them before now? She seemed comfortable with them even though she hadn’t known them long. She couldn’t have. Julie was _just_ starting to emerge from the fog of grief that had been hanging over her all year. There’s no way she had known them longer than a month, even if she hadn’t wanted to tell Flynn about it.

Why hadn’t Julie wanted to tell her? They were Tri- Double Trouble, they told each other everything, but she hadn’t mentioned this. No word about music, or a band and definitely not about cute holograms. Or Mr. Boyband here who was getting a little too close to her girl for Flynn not to know anything about him. Where did they even meet? Julie pretty much went from home to school and back again.

Blinking, Flynn recentered her thoughts, she would be happy for Julie and they could talk later. Her best friend had finally come back to herself, that was something to celebrate. She could be supportive, damn it.

Julie hit the final note and her band disappeared shortly after. The crowd went quiet and Julie stumbled through an explanation, latching on to Kayla’s hologram question. It didn’t make a lot of sense. When would she even have had time to set up the projector? Flynn thinks she would have noticed an entire projector in Julie’s hands but there wasn’t anything. She definitely hadn’t had it with her when they got to the gym and she hadn’t mentioned it when they were talking about Julie performing for Mrs. Harrison. It didn’t add up and a churning started up in Flynn’s stomach. What wasn’t Julie telling her?

She watched, lingering by the bleachers as the crowd dispersed, heading to lockers and buses, and Principal Lessa and Mrs. Harrison approached Julie by the stage. They had a quick conversation while Flynn tried not to let the doubts grow too loud. It must have gone well because Principal Lessa was walking away with a smile and Mrs. Harrison was releasing Julie from a hug before departing as well.

Julie was grinning brighter than Flynn had seen since before Rose had first gotten sick, as she hopped off the stage and headed towards Flynn, a bounce in her step.

Flynn slipped her hands into her pockets, rolling her shoulders defensively. She struggled to control the emotions she was currently failing to work through, but her voice still came out sounding flat. “Wow. You did it.”

“Thanks to you!” Julie grinned at her before her expression faltered, smile slipping away as she took in Flynn’s frown. “Hey, you okay?”

“Um, I’m great. When did you start playing with a hologram band?”

Julie stumbled through an explanation of the boys being a band, but not her band. And also that they were from Sweden of all places. Flynn knew that accent’s were more subtle when singing but those boys did not have even a single hint of an accent. Which was impossible unless they were from the same place. Last time she checked, California and Sweden were very different. Which meant that Julie was lying to her.

Not that she needed a lack of accents to know that. Even if she hadn’t known Julie since before they both could walk. Julie was a horrible liar. Absolutely atrocious. She stumbled over her words, nodded in weird spots and talked with her hands more often than usual. Also the deer in the headlights look gave her away every time. If you just let her go, the details would get worse and worse. It was honestly embarrassing that Julie thought lying would work, especially with Flynn. She knew Julie like the back of her hand and could figure her out in an instant.

That didn’t stop Julie from trying though. Flynn just couldn’t figure out why.

Julie finished off her terrible story with jazz hands and a little dance. Honestly if Flynn wasn’t so upset that her best friend was lying to her it would be funny. It was a terrible excuse. Julie really needed to do better, especially if she was going to be lying now.

“Jules, are you lying to me?” Flynn asked.

Julie dropped her hands, deflating and avoiding Flynn’s eyes as she muttered “yeah, yeah I’m lying.”

“Since when do we lie to each other?”

Julie sighed, “I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry!" Flynn scoffed in disbelief. “That’s all you’ve got?”

Julie just sighed again, looking like a scolded puppy. Flynn couldn’t do this. That’s really all Julie had to say. She had just admitted to lying to Flynn’s face and the best she could do was a sorry and no explanation?

Shaking her head she turned and walked away. She just couldn’t deal with this right now. How had they gotten here? This morning was going so well and just a few hours later Julie had a hologram band that she had _lied_ to Flynn about. Why couldn’t she just tell her? What could be so bad that Julie wouldn’t tell her? Or did she just not want to tell her? The whole thing made no sense at all. She wanted to be mad about everything but instead, she was blinking back the steadily building tears in her eyes. Which was frankly, incredibly rude of her emotions. She wanted to be mad, damn it! But no, she had to be sad about things, and cry about it, and then she could work her way back up to mad.

It just… it felt like it went wrong so quickly. Like it had when Carrie left.

_It had been a long day at school and they had ended up in Julie’s room, they were pretending to do homework but were really just talking, trying to pull Julie out of her shell and into a full conversation, even if just for a little bit. Carrie had been pushing Julie about performing again, to just play again, it didn’t even have to be big. But Julie was tense, eyes flitting around the room like she was looking for a way out and Flynn could see that Julie wasn’t having it today. She was just opening her mouth to change the subject when Julie had finally snapped. Telling Carrie to just leave her alone already, that she didn’t want to do music and why couldn’t Carrie just drop it for once in her life and leave her alone._

_Carrie had frozen, a look of shock and a brief flicker of pain crossed her face before it went blank, and she nodded, sitting up and crawling off the bed. Carrie grabbed her bag and left in a hurry avoiding their eyes on her way out the door. Julie had promptly burst into tears and Flynn had stayed to talk her down. Julie was just really sensitive about music these days. She didn’t want to perform. She flat out refused to step foot in the studio and she wouldn’t even sing along to the radio anymore. Flynn knew Carrie meant well and was just trying to help Julie through it but she was pushing too much. Julie was liable to snap and today she finally had. Carrie had looked upset when she left and Flynn had wanted to follow. To let Carrie know that it wasn’t her fault but she needed to drop the music thing and let Julie heal on her own. But Julie had needed her and so she stayed. She would see Carrie at school tomorrow and make sure she was okay._

_But Carrie had avoided them both at school the next day, and the day after, and the day after that as well. She didn’t text and she found a reason to leave the room when they entered. She looked sad but she also refused to talk to them. Flynn didn’t get it but she had her hands full with a depressed Julie. A Julie that was_ not _handling Carrie’s absence well at all. Julie wasn’t really dealing with her grief to begin with, just pushing it down and pretending it wasn’t there, like if she ignored it, it wouldn’t hurt as much. Which definitely wasn’t healthy but it got her through the day, so Flynn let her have it. But after Carrie stopped coming around or talking to them it got so much worse. Julie felt like she had been abandoned by one of her closest friends on top of everything else and she didn’t know how to handle it. She wasn’t sleeping. Not that she had been sleeping in the first place. But it was getting worse. A lot worse._

_All of Flynn’s time went into keeping Julie afloat and a functioning human, and the sadness at Carrie’s disappearance turned into anger. How could she just leave like that? She knew how much Julie was dealing with and how hard it was, and she just left? So the lingering looks after Carrie disappeared down the hall once again, or the aborted motions to reach for Carrie's hand as comfort after Julie broke down again, turned into resentment. Turned into disdainful looks and sharp words in the hallways. Because Carrie had left. Julie needed her, Flynn needed her and she left. And Flynn loved Julie, she was her ride or die and she would gladly spend every day with Julie, doing her best to keep her together. But Flynn was tired, and it was hard. She was falling behind in classes because she didn’t have time to study. It was exhausting being so wrapped up in another person, especially when they were in a bad place. She didn’t begrudge Julie her pain and she wanted to be there for her but it was hard. She missed Rose, She missed Julie and Carrie and the people they all used to be. The tight knit trio they were. But Carrie was gone and Julie was an empty shell of her old self and it was up to Flynn to hold everything together. And so Triple Threat became Double Trouble, became barbs thrown, and haughty expressions, and scoffs. And it hurt, God did it hurt, but so did a lot of things, and she had bigger things to worry about. Like keeping Julie in one piece._

Julie who was now lying to her. After everything Flynn had gone through this last year to help her, to get her through losing her mom and then Carrie. After sleepless nights, and countless missed homework assignments. Dragging Julie’s butt to her therapist when she insisted she was fine (You haven’t slept more than three hours a night all week and you skipped two meals the day before, you aren’t fine Jules. Get in the damn car.) After a year of hell. Of trying to keep Julie from drowning, and then when that had passed, trying to get her to swim, to sing again. Julie was singing, she was glowing and she was doing it with a stupid hologram band that she was lying to Flynn about. And she just, what was she supposed to do with that? What was she supposed to think?

Flynn dodged Julie in the hallway on her way out of the gym, ignoring Julie calling her name behind her. She needed to get away and just think for a minute. Thankfully Julie got caught up by a group of classmates who were gushing over the performance. Flynn continued her flight down the hallway, passing Carrie who was arguing with Kayla about something, tossing her pink hair over her shoulder and waving her hands through the air as she talked. Great she was just running into all of the people who had betrayed her in this hallway. Who was next? Kenny Ortega who was holding out on renewing her favorite tv show? She was stressed Mr. Ortega, she needed the serotonin boost.

Luckily she made it out of the hallway and all the way to her car without running into anyone else. She grumbled to herself as she started the car and pulled onto the main road, heading home. She refused to cry about this, at least not right now. She was almost home when Julie must have gotten away from her adoring fans because she was texting Flynn like crazy. She responded with a poop emoji before turning her phone on ‘do not disturb’ and headed to her room to work on homework. She may be in emotional turmoil but she refused to risk her GPA over it.

~~~~

It took a few hours but she managed to get the majority of her work done before she just couldn’t focus on it anymore. Mind still whirling over Julie and her hologram band. The sadness was starting to fade back into anger which she was thankful for. Anger could be productive, sadness was just a _useless_ emotion, she hated it. Sadness was moping and tears that gave her a headache and sucked the energy out of her. Anger on the other hand, anger was energizing, spite had gotten her through many class assignments because no way was Carrie freaking Wilson going to do better than her.

Anger made her hungry, and she wandered down to the kitchen to make a sandwich. Opening the fridge to look for the cheese, she spotted the eggs on the bottom shelf and paused. Would egging Julie’s window be a productive use of her time and energy, no. Was it childish and stupid, yes. Was she going to do it anyways, also yes. Emotions demanded to be felt and all that jazz.

Abandoning her sandwich, she ran upstairs for her bag. Sticking the egg carton in a baggie and shoving it in her bag. She refused to deal with accidental egg goo in her school bag on top of everything else that had gone wrong today. Weapons secure, she grabbed her keys and headed out the door.

The drive to Julie’s house passed quickly, they lived only a few blocks away. Usually she loved that fact. She always got to Julie’s first when they had sleepovers as Carrie lived all the way in the hills. But today it just reminded her how much had gone wrong so quickly.

She parked on the street so that her car wasn’t visible from the house and then creeped to the porch, heading towards Julie’s window. She stood up near the living room window, peering around with her bag draped over her shoulder, checking to see if the coast was clear. She must have forgot to check the path from the studio however because she wasn’t expecting Julie’s voice when it came

“Flynn!” Julie’s shout made her jump and then scowl at her body's betrayal. She turned, keeping the expression on her face as she looked over at Julie.

“What are you doing here? I’ve been looking for you everywhere!” Julie sounded exasperated. What did she have to be annoyed about. Julie’s the one who lied, terribly she might add.

“Not everywhere.” Flynn shrugged, trying to project an unaffected air. Now Julie cared? Okay yes she had been texting but still. “Cause here I am.”

“I’ve been texting you all day! The least you could do is text me back.” Oh! She wanted to go there, the _least_ Flynn could do? She had been completely focused on Julie for a year and now Julie was lying to her and she wanted to be mad that Flynn hadn’t texted her back? Unbelievable!

She said something about a poop emoji walking to Julie and reaching into her bag for her matching Double Trouble shirt they had made months ago on one of Julie’s good days. Holding it out to Julie, she made a quip about betrayal and her dad’s car, honestly it wasn’t her best work but it had been a day, sue her.

“Look, I’m very sorry for not telling you. But I need you to know how important you are to me. There’s no way I would have made it through this year if it wasn’t for you.” Damn Julie was good. But she was allowed to be mad damn it. Julie had lied to her and even though she apologized, Flynn still didn’t know why she had lied in the first place, or what was up with the cute hologram band.

“Yet it was three strangers who got you back into music.” Julie looked up as Flynn talked, rolling her lips like she was trying to decide how much to say but Flynn just kept going “I don’t need someone in my life who lies and keeps things from me. Goodbye Julie.” Okay so maybe that was a little much but she was justified in her anger.

Julie rolled her eyes before reaching out and grabbing Flynn, keeping her from walking away. “They’re ghosts!” Julie burst out.

“What?!” What the hell was Julie talking about? Ghosts weren’t real.

“The boys in my band. They aren’t holograms. They’re ghosts. And when we play together, people can see them.” Holy shit Julie had lost it.

“Like the kind who rattle chains and go ‘boo’?” It came out snarkier than she meant it to but honestly Julie had scared her. Julie started to go on a tangent about ghost stereotypes and them being normal dead dudes and then something about a Reggie? She wasn’t making sense and Flynn was officially worried about her. She had thought getting back to music would help but maybe it had just pushed her over the edge.

Julie was hallucinating again. The first time Dr. Turner said it was a stress response and severe sleep deprivation, but Julie said she had been sleeping better lately. She seemed better. The shadows under her eyes were almost gone and she was in a better mood. Happier and smiling more often. But seeing ghosts? Ghosts were not better. Ghosts were a lot worse.

She still wasn’t sure how the holograms worked but ghosts were not it. She pulled her phone out and flipped to Rays contact, opening a message chain she hadn’t needed in months. The ‘Cinnamon Roll Protection Squad’ group chat with Tia, Ray and Flynn.

“Who are you texting?”

Flynn looked up from her phone, taking in Julie’s exasperated expression before returning her gaze back to her phone, “Your dad. He told me to text him if I was worried about you. And, um, I’m worried! You’re seeing things Jules.”

Julie ripped the phone out of her hand, holding it above her head where she couldn’t reach it. This was _not_ helping Flynn out of her worry!

“Alright, so you want to be difficult? Meet me in my mom’s studio in thirty minutes. And I’ll prove to you I'm not crazy. And please don’t text my dad.”

Flynn sighed, hesitating before agreeing with the thirty minutes. She could give Julie a chance, Flynn didn’t believe her, but if it made Julie more likely to listen when they dragged her back to Dr. Turner, it would be worth a shot.

Julie sighed, visibly relieved. Well, until she glanced down at the edge of the egg carton sticking out of Flynn’s bag.

“Eggs?”

Oh shit! Flynn brushed her off, awkwardly stumbling over excuses before finally just giving up and walking away.

~~~~

The thirty minutes passed by slowly as Flynn panicked a bit. Was she being irresponsible for not talking to Ray right away? Was Julie really hallucinating? Everyone at the assembly had seen the band. But ghosts weren’t real. So was Julie detached from reality enough that she had hidden and set up projection equipment while thinking they were ghosts? How had she even met the guys if she thought they were ghosts? Boyband with the heart eyes hadn’t seemed to think anything was off. You would think it would be obvious if one’s bandmate was having a breakdown and was convinced one was a ghost.

Or were ghosts an actual thing? God, she didn’t know! How bad was this? Should she even entertain Julie’s belief in the ghost band or just call Ray immediately. He was Julie’s dad, he was actually equipped for this. Flynn would do anything for Julie but she was only 16 and her best friend, who had been dealing with grief, sleep deprivation and depression for the last year thought she was seeing ghosts. If someone was telling her this story, she would tell them to get Julie to a doctor asap. But they didn’t know Julie and Julie had been doing better. Flynn wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt. At least for the next hour or so. An hour should be okay, right? But what if something happened, and she didn’t call Ray as soon as Julie had told her about the ghosts? 

But Julie had seemed so sure. A ghost band would make a lot of sense. It would explain the lack of visible equipment. Yes, Julie could be completely off the deep end and have hidden it without realizing but she would have been behaving a lot more erratic. And besides the ghost story she was completely herself. She was more _Julie_ than she had been since Rose got sick. The only out of character thing was the lying and if Julie’s band really _were_ ghosts, that would explain why she hadn’t wanted to tell Flynn. How do you explain ghosts without sounding crazy? And she did sound crazy but what did Flynn know, she wasn’t a professional. She was a high school student. 

Julie hadn’t wanted to tell her until she had threatened to leave. Oh my god, Flynn had threatened to leave. Just like Julie’s mom did. Just like Carrie did. How could she have done that to Julie. She didn’t deserve to be left. 

God maybe she should call Ray anyways. If the ghosts were real, he should probably know that his daughter was in a band with three teenage ghost boys. And if Julie really was hallucinating, he would be here to smooth things over and help Flynn get Julie to the hospital. 

There were so many options and she didn’t know what to do. She loved Julie and just wanted her to be okay and happy, but she didn’t want to put her at risk by being reckless either. 

_'Get it together, Flynn’_

Pushing the rising panic down, Flynn focused on breathing. This was not her fault. If Julie really was hallucinating she would have ended up here regardless of if Flynn had raised the alarm right away. She would stick with her word and give Julie a chance to show her whatever she thought she needed to, and then she would call Ray. Jesus, she can’t believe that she’s going with Plan ‘praying ghosts are real and Julie isn’t having a breakdown.’

~~~~

Finally the thirty minutes were up and she walked down to the studio, knocking on the door. At least she would know for sure in a few minutes and they could go forward from there.

Julie opened the door looking nervous but grinning anyways. “Thanks for coming. We just wanted to rehearse the song so it was perfect. Which it’s not, but whatever.”

Flynn just raised her brows, giving Julie her best unimpressed look. “No, if I’m going to hear a song from your imaginary ghost band, I want it to be perfect. Get back in there. All of you” She pointed at the air around her, like she was bossing around Julie’s ghost boys. Okay so it wasn’t her most supportive moment but she was kind of busy freaking out.

Julie laughed like Flynn was being ridiculous, which okay, fair. “They’re not out here.”

“Oh, I know.” Flynn touched Julie’s shoulder as she passed by her and headed into the room. A bit more sass slipping out then she had intended.

Julie looked around ‘checking in’ with her hallucinations before asking Flynn to move. A Reggie apparently needed more space to ‘rock out’ though how much rocking out a hallucination was going to do, Flynn didn’t know. Either way Julie pushed forward, nudging Flynn over into a chair before heading to her keyboard. As per Julie’s instructions, she looked around for any hologram equipment, of which there was none.

The song ‘Flying Solo’ Julie had apparently originally written as a poem for her before ‘the guys’ had made it into a song. Flynn was hoping that they really were ghosts. Julie seemed very invested in her hallucination and Flynn really didn’t want to have to burst that bubble.

Julie took a deep breath before starting a drum loop on her keyboard and playing the opening notes. Okay so it was catchy, Flynn would give her that.

_If I leave you on a bad note_

_Leave you on a sad note_

_Guess that means I'm buying lunch that day_

_I know all your secrets_

_You know all my deep-dish_

_Guess that means some things they never, they never_

_Change_

The song was beautiful and it captured their friendship perfectly. They knew each other so well and had been ride or die since they could walk. Julie looked so happy and it was like she had never been away from music at all. She was made for this. She had melodies in her veins and a drumbeat in her heart. She _needed_ music. God, Flynn was now actively praying ghosts were real. Please let Julie keep this. Let her keep the smile and the light in her eyes. Please don’t make Flynn call Ray when it all comes crashing down. She couldn’t watch Julie crawl back into herself again.

_We both know what I, what I, what I_

_Mean_

_When I look at you it's like I'm looking at me_

Julie’s voice went up on the last line and she paused, the air shifting before finally.

_My life, my life would be real low, zero, flying solo_

_My life, my life would be real low, zero, flying solo without you_

_(Hey!) Yeah, yeah_

_(Hey!) Yeah, yeah_

_My life, my lifе would be real low, zero, flying solo without you_

Flynn shrieked, flinching back into her chair, when Julie’s band popped into existence around them, instruments picking up the beat as their voices came in on the harmony. Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! The shock at the sudden appearance of three extra not-bodies in the studio finally faded and relief sunk in. Oh thank god! She didn’t have to call Ray and raise the alarm. Julie could keep music. Flynn was thanking every deity she could think of for not making them go through this again. She definitely could not have handled that.

Julie seemed incredibly pleased with herself, which Flynn would give her. She was actually right about her ghost band. No hallucinations here, unless group hallucinations were a thing now, which she seriously doubted. Thank god, because she was just _not_ equipped for that. Julie hopped up from the keyboard moving over to dance with the bassist for a moment. The guitarist -with frankly impressive arms for a teenage boy- left the bassist to sway in Flynn's direction jamming out on the guitar. He could stand to back up a bit, she did not know this dead white boy and he could give her space, please and thank you. He glanced at Julie with a grin to rival hers before backing up and letting Julie dance to Flynn, singing the rest of the chorus to her before ending in a crouch with an impressive ‘I told you so’ look on her face.

_Yеah, you know who I'm liking_

_Way before I like them, duh_

_'Cause you liked them first_

_And if somebody hurts you_

_I'm gonna get hurt too_

_That's just how we work, yeah, that's just how we work_

They shared a soft smile. That was how they worked. She knew Julie better than she knew herself and they were tight. All that cliché ‘bestie’ stuff that adults love to throw around to pretend they’re cool. That was her and Julie. Which is part of why it had hurt so much that Julie had pulled a 180 and lied to her today. She got it though. How did you say ‘yeah so my hologram band are actually ghosts and I’m the only one who can see them unless we play together’? That was definitely not an easy conversation to have.

_It will never_

_Change_

_We both know what I, what I, what I_

_Mean_

_When I look at you it's like I'm looking at me_

Julie seemed so happy. Her eyes sparkled and she was practically glowing. Flynn was so, so glad to see it. Now that she actually knew what was going on, she could shove the worry down and focus on being so freaking proud of Julie.

_My life, my life would be real low, zero, flying solo_

_My life, my life would be real low, zero, flying solo without you_

_(Hey!) Yeah, yeah_

_(Hey!) Yeah, yeah_

_My life, my life would be real low, zero, flying solo without you_

Julie stood up, pulling Flynn up with the hand she was still holding. Boyband Bro was walking behind them and Flynn was definitely not sure about that. The boy had a lot of energy. He was like a hyperactive puppy with no sense of personal space and he was way too focused on Julie for them only knowing each other for what, two days, maybe three? But Julie seemed totally fine with the attention, pulling Flynn over and giving her a look when she hesitated. Look, just because she knew they were ghosts and loved Julie, didn’t mean she wanted them all up in her business. He locked eyes with her as he sang, which was weird, but okay, and then he mock barked at her? Jerked his head weird on the “hey”? She didn’t know but it was weird. She glanced at Julie for an explanation but she also looked confused, okay then. Boy was odd, but boys in general were weird so what did she know?

Thankfully Julie decided that was enough of that and led her over to the blond drummer. Flynn was definitely okay with that. He had a chill vibe and smiled with his eyes. She loosened up a bit and danced with Julie before they moved over to the bassist. He also had the energy of a puppy but it was more chaotic sweetness than chaotic energy. Chaotic sweetness Flynn could deal with. The song had hit a lull and she reached out, her hand passing right through him.

“Weird right?” He grinned at her, looking between her and Julie

“They’re ghosts!” She turned to Julie in astonishment, the fact still somehow trying to sink in. They were ghosts, like actual spirits of people who had died. How did an entire band die at once? And why did they make a band with Julie? They would be having a long conversation after this. She had questions, damn it, questions!

The drummer piped up then with a “Oh, uh we prefer musician spirits.” and the bassist pointed at him in agreement. Okay, she kind of got Julie’s attachment. They seemed pretty chill for a bunch of dead dudes.

“Julie?” They all looked at the guitarist as he spoke up, puppy look fully in place. “So does this mean you’re joining our band?” He looked hopeful, as he should. Her girl was amazing and deserved the best. They would be lucky to have her. And on that note.

“Actually, I think you’re joining her band.” She stepped towards him, brushing her hair behind her shoulders and daring him to say anything. He just shook his head with a grin, looking towards Julie as she shifted to stand next to Flynn, propping her elbow up on Flynn’s shoulder. “I’m gonna go with what she said.” Julie agreed with Flynn, Boyband just grinned at Julie, shaking his head, eyes sparkling.

_My life, my life would be real low, zero, flying solo_

_My life, my life would be real low, zero, flying solo without you_

_(Hey!) Yeah, yeah_

_(Hey!) Yeah, yeah_

_My life, my life would be real low, zero, flying solo without you_

As the song wound down, Julie and Flynn danced together, getting back into the groove of things. Finding themselves again. Julie finished with a soft high note, pressing her forehead against Flynn’s before pulling back with a smirk.

“Still want to talk to my dad?”

“Nah, I’m good” Flynn laughed and they hugged. She was so glad things hadn’t ended with a trip to the hospital and a call to Julie’s therapist. Believe it or not ghosts were a much better alternative.

“You and me, Jules we have a lot to talk about. I want to know everything!” She eyed Julie and the Guitarist right before he poofed out. Don’t think she didn’t notice that his attention didn’t waver off of Julie for most of the song, but especially the ending. That boy was trouble waiting to happen and judging by the way Julie smiled at him, soft and fond, they needed to be having that conversation sooner, rather than later. But first things first, she had the last few days to catch up and she wanted to know everything. Warning Julie about the potential heartbreak of having a crush on a dead bandmate could wait a day or two. Surely nothing _too_ crush-worthy could happen before then. Let Julie have her little flirtship for now, settle in to having a new band, and they could talk about it on Monday.


End file.
